flue

¹ American  

[floo] / flu /

noun

1. a passage or duct for smoke in a chimney.

2. any duct or passage for air, gas, or the like.

3. a tube, especially a large one, in a fire-tube boiler.

4. Music.

   1. flue pipe.

   2. Also called windway.  a narrow slit in the upper end of an organ pipe through which the air current is directed.

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flue ² American  

[floo] / flu /

noun

1. downy matter; fluff.

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flue ³ American  

[floo] / flu /

Or flew

noun

1. a fishing net.

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flue ¹ British  

/ fluː /

noun

1. a shaft, tube, or pipe, esp as used in a chimney, to carry off smoke, gas, etc

2. music the passage in an organ pipe or flute within which a vibrating air column is set up See also flue pipe

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flue ² British  

/ fluː /

noun

1. loose fluffy matter; down

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flue ³ British  

/ fluː /

noun

1. a type of fishing net

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flue ⁴ British  

/ fluː /

noun

1. another word for fluke 1 fluke 1

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Other Word Forms

• flued
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of flue¹

First recorded in 1555–65; earlier flew; of uncertain origin; perhaps from Old English flēwsa “a flowing, flux,” the form flews being taken as plural

Origin of flue²

First recorded in 1580–90; of uncertain origin; perhaps from Old English flug- (in flugol “swift, fleeting”); perhaps from Flemish Dutch vluwe, from French velu “hairy, downy”; see also velvet ( def. )

Origin of flue³

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English flue, flowe, flew, from Middle Dutch vl(o)uwe “fishing net”; akin to Old English flōwan flow ( def. )

Explanation

When smoke flows out of a chimney, it moves through a narrow opening called a flue. Before you light a fire in the fireplace, make sure the flue is open! Don't mistake flue for its homonym, flu — rather than an illness, a flue is a duct or pipe that's connected to a stove, heater, furnace, or fireplace. Smoke or gas can flow freely through the flue, which allows the appliance to work properly and vents any nasty exhaust away from people. Experts disagree about the origin of this word, but many trace it back to a Germanic root meaning "to flow."

Example Sentences

He has won two straight fights with the rare Von Flue choke.

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 4, 2017

Bearded, 15th Century Nicolas de Flue is worshiped by all Switzerland as a national hero, and was regarded by Luther and Zwingli as a precursor of the Reformation.

From Time Magazine Archive

Nicolas de Flue made no compromises with unrighteousness.

From Time Magazine Archive

What tha can see in her caps me,    For awm sewer shoo's as faal as old Flue, An aw think when shoo's tawkin to thee,    Shoo mud find surnmat better to do.

From Yorkshire Lyrics Poems written in the Dialect as Spoken in the West Riding of Yorkshire. To which are added a Selection of Fugitive Verses not in the Dialect by Hartley, John

Flue pipes, in which the wind is directed against a lip, as in Fig.

From How it Works Dealing in simple language with steam, electricity, light, heat, sound, hydraulics, optics, etc., and with their applications to apparatus in common use by Williams, Archibald

Related Words

• chimney
• duct